January 20, 2004–Wolfram Research continues to provide advanced technical computing options for the latest and most-advanced microprocessor systems with the release of Mathematica 5 and gridMathematica for Linux on AMD64. As a reflection of Wolfram Research’s rigorous software engineering standards, Mathematica 5 is among the first technical computing platforms specifically optimized for the AMD64 architecture–and it delivers impressive performance. The optimized Mathematica port outperforms a regular Linux version of Mathematica on AMD64 systems by up to 50 percent in typical scientific and technical calculations.

“Mathematica 5 for AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron processors helps ensure that applications take full advantage of the AMD64 architecture performance benefits,” said Ed Gasiorowski, director of Developer Relations, AMD’s Computation Products Group. “Especially when dealing with large data sets, greater than the 4-GB limit addressed by 32-bit processors, Mathematica 5 will help deliver exceptional application performance.”

“We consider AMD’s 64-bit microprocessors a natural step in the evolution of the x86 architecture and an attractive platform for Mathematica 5 with its performance-oriented advanced algorithms. Existing Mathematica applications can now run without modification but significantly faster on AMD processor-based systems from desktops to supercomputers. Users often ask what the real benefits of 64-bit computing are, and we believe that Mathematica is part of the answer,” says Peter Overmann, director of Software Technology at Wolfram Research.

Cluster computing users in particular will appreciate the availability of Wolfram Research’s gridMathematica for AMD64, which provides a smooth migration path from scalar 32-bit computing to parallel 64-bit computing. “Wolfram Research is committed to letting our users take full advantage of new processor technologies,” says Lars Hohmuth, manager of Strategic Marketing at Wolfram Research. “Linux and Mathematica are setting new standards for high-performance technical computing. Mathematica for AMD64 adds to the choices our customers already have for 64-bit computing, including HP Tru64 Unix, HP-UX, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, Linux for Itanium, and Linux Alpha.”

Mathematica 5 for Linux on AMD64 can be immediately downloaded from the Wolfram Research web store or ordered in a CD-ROM format.